For the upcoming 2023-24 academic year, Concordia College has redesigned its wellness program and is implementing wellness classes that have been integrated into the First-Year Experience (FYE) curriculum.
As part of this transition, Dr. Stefanie Meyer has been brought on board and has taken the role of wellness director. For this new position, Meyer has been tasked with designing and teaching the new/revised wellness courses. These are 1 credit courses for two semesters that will be required of all students. These classes have been redesigned to address multiple dimensions of wellness — physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, and environmental.
Meyer fits this role excellently as she comes from a strong educational background. Her Ph.D. in exercise science and nutrition as well as experience working in community wellness and academic leadership give her the skill set needed to succeed. Meyer is very excited to take on this new role as she has “the opportunity to positively influence the lifelong well-being of the student body.”
The push for this new curriculum and role came from Concordia faculty and staff who noted that with the pandemic there were increased instances of students struggling with physical and mental health, building and maintaining relationships, time management, and declining academic success related to stress and anxiety combined with lack of knowledge and skills among students about how to address such challenges.
These redesigned courses are being put in place to help foster well-being and give students opportunities to practice wellness behaviors. Dr. Gwen Halaas, dean of the new Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions, hopes that “[these courses] will build a strong foundation for students and help them to develop healthy habits.”
Dr. Meredith Wagner, professor and chair of the department of nutrition, dietetics, and exercise science, ushered in the new program and highlighted how the new wellness curriculum aligns with the goals of the strategic plan, Concordia Leads: The Plan for 2030.
“The Wholeness and Health of the Community section of the Strategic Plan asks us to ‘build and implement practices that foster well-being and spiritual growth among all who learn and work at Concordia,’” Wagner said. “Student health and well-being are essential to their ability to learn. These courses will develop students into proactive caretakers of their own health and wellness.”